


Oversharing Is Caring

by nhasablog



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Childhood Memories, Howard Stark's Bad Parenting, M/M, Maria Stark's Good Parenting, Nostalgia, Tickling
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-12
Updated: 2016-09-12
Packaged: 2018-08-14 17:37:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,125
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8022973
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nhasablog/pseuds/nhasablog
Summary: Steve asks about Tony’s parents and Tony realizes that he wants to tell him about them.





	Oversharing Is Caring

**Author's Note:**

> Warnings: Mentions of death and neglect.

_“Tell me about your parents.”_

Tony had never experienced a phrase as simple as that being stuck in his head for so long after it was uttered. Those words, being released to the world in the kitchen of the Stark Tower of all places, forced their way into his brain and refused to leave. It was only once they wandered into the chambers of his hearts that Tony realized what the moment that sentence had been born meant.

That was the moment Tony Stark decided to trust Steve Rogers.

At first he couldn’t exactly pinpoint _why_ those words had made such an impact on him. People constantly asked about his father. Attending an event meant that countless of mentions of his father, such as his work and ethics and death, were being thrown at him, Tony, Howard’s only son that had been walking in his footsteps ever since he’d been old enough to say the word “science”. At this point it didn’t even bother him. You could get used to any situation if it occurred often enough.

But then Steve asked about his parents and Tony felt like he was back on square one. All those memorized answers suddenly felt irrelevant and useless and even stupid. Steve asked about his parents and Tony didn’t know what to say, and after scrambling for an excuse to leave the room Tony kept playing and replaying the very short interaction in his head until he felt like his mind would explode if he did it one more time. Fortunately he figured out what the big deal was before that happened.

See, the difference between Steve and everyone else was that Steve had known Howard back in the days. He’d seen him in person, witnessed the way he worked and moved and talked. He knew what Howard had been like before Tony’s mother was in his life; something not even _Tony_ could imagine. He’d known Howard and didn’t want to know all those juicy details that all those journalists in disguise lusted for whenever they cornered Tony in a tipsy state. Steve simply asked because he _wanted_ Tony to talk about them. The guy probably thought it would be therapeutic for Howard Stark’s son to open up about the whole ordeal, maybe share some childhood memories, cry a little for good measure. Whatever Steve thought Tony would do wasn’t something that would end up in a magazine, and Tony found that he actually liked the fact that Steve brought up something just because he thought it would help and not because he wanted to make money off of it.

And Steve had said _parents_ and not just _father_. No one ever asked about his mother and it had been pissing him off ever since he’d realized it. He’d much rather gush about her than his father’s neglectful nature, thank you very much. The fact that Steve realized that Tony had lost more than just one parent meant a lot more than he could explain.

So, even though it had happened subconsciously and Tony hadn’t been aware of it at first, he started trusting Steve Rogers.

As he now watched Steve enter the living room, looking tired but otherwise pretty content, Tony realized that, yes, he would very much like to tell him about his parents.

“Contrary to popular belief,” Tony started, making Steve jump at the sudden noise. “I wasn’t completely raised by nannies.”

Steve looked at him in confusion. “Oh?”

Tony shook his head. “My mom made sure to give me at least one full day of the week, at least until I got a bit older and didn’t need her as much. If she for some reason failed to spend time with me she always made it up to me. Unlike my father, that is. She was always his opposite.”

Steve had paused at the doorway, looking unsure. Tony met his gaze. “You asked me to tell you about my parents, didn’t you?” He patted the space next to him on the couch. “Have a seat. I’m just mentioning things as I remember them.”

Steve finally seemed to understand what was going on. “You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to. I’m sure I caught you by surprise last week.”

“You did, but after a bit of thinking I’ve come to the conclusion that I want you to know about them.” Tony gave him a small smile. “I’m sure it’s clear that the Howard you knew isn’t the same Howard I knew.”

Steve, bless him, decided to change the topic from his father to his mother. “And I never met Maria. From what I’ve understood she loved you a lot.”

Tony averted his eyes. “I loved her, too.”

He could hear Steve approaching. “I would love to hear more about her.”

Tony looked up again. “You know, I think she would’ve liked you.”

Steve sat down. “You do?”

“You were one of dad’s biggest accomplishments. Or well, Captain America was. I practically grew up hearing about you. Mom always seemed a little bummed that she’d never met you. Both of us had this fascination with you.” Tony let out a laugh. “You were like this god we worshipped. You sitting here right now is sort of surreal.”

Steve was hanging on to his every word. “I didn’t know this.”

“You have to realize, Cap, that you were a hero in a lot of households.” Steve didn’t reply, so Tony kept going. “Anyway, I think once mom would stop being all starstruck she’d realize that you were just a guy, and she would love you for it.”

Steve shook his head with a laugh. “Hopefully I wouldn’t disappoint.”

“Oh, trust me. I grew up hearing the same things mom had. You wouldn’t disappoint at all.”

A slightly tense silence followed as Steve and Tony squirmed uncomfortably in their seats. Realizing that he could trust Steve apparently made Tony’s verbal filter stop working properly.

“Anyway,” he said, clearing his throat. “Mom wasn’t like people make her out to be. She really cared.”

“I’m sure Howard did to.”

Tony eyed him. “You’ve met him, right?”

“I have, and I know his way of showing his love might not have been-”

“Genuine?”

“Obvious.”

Tony exhaled loudly. “Whatever you say, Cap.”

“Just-” Steve gestured to him. “continue. Please.”

Tony hummed. “Okay. I do admit that I had _some_ good moments with my father. Not many, but at least it’s something.”

“Tell me about them?”

“All those times he let me watch him work. That was heaven to me back then.”

“Did watching him influence your own hopes and dreams?”

“Probably. Most likely. As soon as I could understand what he was doing I knew I wanted to do the same thing. And mom always encouraged me to, after I’d told her. Dad was… Well, he sort of always expected me to do it, so for him it wasn’t much to encourage since he knew I’d do it anyway.” Tony shrugged. “That’s Howard Stark to you.”

“I think he was proud of you.”

“Maybe. He never told me he was, but he wasn’t really the sentimental type.”

“Do you have any more good moments you cherish?”

“Not with him. With my mom, on the other hand; we had some good moments I will always remember.”

“Such as?”

Tony scratched at his goatee. “That Christmas we spent in New York. She constantly took me places because she claimed I was finally old enough to appreciate the city. She probably didn’t realize that what I appreciated the most was her company.”

Tony found that once he’d started talking he couldn’t really stop, and oversharing didn’t seem like a thing in that moment. “Those nights she’d read to me before bed were nice. Of course I refused to sleep afterwards because I wanted to know what happened next. She’d always tell me that bad boys who wouldn’t sleep would get a very special visit from the tickle monster.” Tony had to smile at the memory. “And then she’d tickle me until I promised to sleep.”

Steve grinned. “Sounds like something my mom used to do.”

“I think it’s a mom thing.”

“Definitely a mom thing.”

A comfortable silence filled the room now as each man was lost in their own thoughts. Tony never thought talking about his parents could feel good. It usually just left him feeling empty.

There, in that room, Tony Stark came to the realization that nostalgia could sometimes be a good thing. Thinking of all the things he loved and missed about his parents was like honoring their memory. He didn’t do that very often.

He sat up straighter. “I should visit their graves more often.”

Steve turned his head to look at him. “Remember, if you need company…” He trailed off, but Tony got the message.

“Thanks, Cap.” A pause, and then, “Promise to not mention it to anyone if I end up ugly crying.”

Steve sent him a soft smile. “I promise.”

Tony gave his knee a pat. “You’re a real buddy. I promise to tickle you whenever you’re having a hard time falling asleep. According to my research that happens pretty often.”

Steve let out a laugh. “And I promise to do the same since you seem to be having the same problem.”

“Did it impact you, though?” Tony suddenly found himself asking. “Your mom tickling you in those moments?”

“What do you mean?”

“To me it’s a comforting thing now because of it. I feel safe whenever someone I trust does it to me.” If Steve hadn’t said that his mom had done it to him Tony would never be sharing this.

“Oh.” Steve’s face flushed ever so slightly, which was sort of cute if Tony had to be honest. “Well, yeah, I do find it comforting now that you mention it.”

They smiled at each other, and Tony felt as if their relationship had been entirely different at the beginning of this conversation. Tony now didn’t doubt that he trusted Steve. In fact, he was pretty willing to lay his soul bare in front of that man.

He reached out again; this time to give Steve’s knee a squeeze. “It’s been nice talking to you. I also see that you still seem to be ticklish if that jump was any indication.”

Steve pointed at him. “Don’t even try to tell me that doesn’t apply to you, too.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it.”

It was the wrong moment to exploit their newfound knowledge, so they got up and went their separate ways and didn’t bring up this conversation until several months and a few visits to the cemetery later.

“Why are you still up?” Tony entered the bedroom fully without having to turn on any lights.

Steve was lying on their bed in his sleep attire, but the lamp on the bedside table was on as Steve doodled in his sketchbook. It was way past midnight at this point.

He looked up at Tony’s voice. “Hey. You’re back.”

“And here I’d be worried I’d wake you up,” Tony said as he started unbuttoning his shirt.

“I couldn’t sleep,” Steve admitted, setting the book aside.

“Yeah, I figured.” Tony quickly changed into his own pyjamas and made his way over to the bed. He leaned in to press his lips against Steve’s before he settled down comfortably. “Wanna talk about it?”

“What’s there to talk about?”

“You haven’t had trouble sleeping in a while.”

“I guess I just missed you.”

“I told you I would most likely be gone all night.”

“And yet you’re here.”

“I left the conference early,” Tony confessed. “I wanted to surprise you. I thought you’d wake up in the morning all confused and delighted.”

Steve smiled at him. “I’m happy you’re home, I promise.”

“I guess being away for just three days didn’t make you miss me _too_ much.”

“Shh, I’m just tired.” Steve reached out to tangle their fingers together. “I haven’t slept that well since you left.”

“I’m sorry,” Tony said quickly. “I won’t have to leave again for a lot of weeks.”

“It’s not your fault. Sleep has just felt so far away.”

“Maybe you need a special visit from the tickle monster to help you with that.”

Steve was smiling even before Tony spidered his fingers up his rib cage. “Ah, no, I think I’m fine. Give the tickle monster the night ohohoff!”

“And here are the giggles.”

“I’m fihine, you don’t have to do thihis!”

“But I love hearing you laugh. And besides.” Tony paused briefly enough to grin at him. “I like doing this and I know you like it too.”

Deciding to trust Steve Rogers was the best decision Tony had ever made.

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on [tumblr](http://nhasablog.tumblr.com)


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